Is boating for the rich? Feeling dismayed

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IF I wished to tow a boat I would purchase a used 18 wheel tractor, cab over with a sleeper pod. The shortest available , easy with $5,000US

With some work I could shuck the second rear axle , shorten the frame as much as could be done and install a hitch.

With some work the sleeper could get a stove and composting toilet , VOILLA a legal RV!!!

No CDL , no air brake endorsement and most important $125 per Year! insurance.

Of course the usual mom & pop Airstrean style length , 55ft in many eastern 65 in civilized states and longer out west would rule..

With a tow rating of about 50- 55,000lbs a boat would hardly be noticed.

The cheap RV insurance is the key weather for one launch a year or Maine to San Fran every other week
 
18 Wheel tractor, WOW! Although I have seen a 12 wheeled one.
 
Most road tractors I've seen have 10 wheels.
 
18, please....:)
ImageUploadedByTrawler Forum1425412556.739525.jpg
 
I like it. Reminds me of a big version of a Fisher 25 Potter. Needs some cleaning up in the aft cabin profile though.
 
I've been watching and enjoying this thread for some time now and a couple of things pop out at me.....

-there are many on here who are willing to do without the niceties (notice I didn't say "necessities") on their boat.
-there are many on here who apparently are very handy at fixing things on their boat.
-there are many on here who have cruised much more extensively than I have.
-there are many on here who chose to buy and older boat that needed work, knowing they could do the work and save money all the way around.

For the record, I am OK with doing maintenance on my boat. By that I mean oil & filter changes, impeller changes, bottom painting, waxing, etc. I am not a boat mekanyk by any stretch.

I knew when I bought my boat I could do the maintenance, but not most of the complicated repairs. Thus I bought a boat that was sound, rather than one that needed a lot of work.

I also knew that I wanted a boat that was comfy, had air conditioning/heat, and other comforts that I enjoyed at home. I did not want to have to sleep on the deck to avoid the heat inside the cabin. Nor did I want to bundle up under a dozen blankets because I had a boat without heat.

I was in my mi-60's when I bought this boat and figured I'd probably have it until the late 70's when it would become too much to handle, and by that I mean keeping up with the maintenance and the costs of operating it.

With all that in mind, I bought a boat that we could comfortably spend weeks aboard. I wanted twin engines that were reliable and a generator large enough to power the boat if I wanted to run the heat, water heater, stove, etc., all at the same time.

Am I rich? Not hardly. I financed the boat mainly because I didn't want to take retirement funds and spend them on a toy. Many will question that decision, but my background is in investment management and I was comfortable that I knew enough to properly analyze paying cash vs. financing the boat.

We spend a fair amount of time on the boat, but we're not liveaboards. Probably next summer or the summer following we're going to spend 4-5 months on board (timing of the trip depends on a factors over which I have no control). Knowing that this would likely be the one big cruise we'd take I wanted to be able to enjoy it without having to worry about pinching pennies.

So to answer the OP's question--no, you don't have to be rich if you plan ahead then follow your plan.
 
Maybe time for a reality check on the use of the word rich.

If you have the disposable income of $20,000 to spend on a boat....most people I have worked with for the last 40 years would consider you really well off to rich.

Doesn't matter if it's a one or two earner family.... most people I know making $100,000 before taxes....aren't spending 25% of their income on a boat.

Nothing to be embarrassed about being rich..just look long and hard how most people on the planet...even just the US..... live.
 
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Mick Scarborough said:
I am hoping to leave at 52. By leaving at 52 instead of 50, I will get an extra 100K. If I stay to 55 then I get another 200K. I already have high blood pressure from stress and really don't feel like shooting the dice for a mere 200K more. I have never been much for worshipping money and my personal feelings are life cant be bought. So I will not stay until 55. I cant collect the 100k until 57 though so I want to be well into my cruising when that kitty comes into my hands, it will be fun money (or a new damn motor :mad:). My father is my inspiration for my entire life. He told me to live life to its fullest and not work until the grave. Its a beautiful world out there and I refuse to miss it.:thumb:
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While I can't say that I'd consider an exta 200k "mere":lol:, I do hear you loud and clear.

I don't post much anymore, but FWIW, and if you'll allow me to segway off for a moment, I promise to return shortly, I have ALWAYS had high stress jobs. Law enforcement, military, and even in the gig's I run now, there are timelines, deadlines, and potentially HUGE ramifications if you screw things up, up to an including jail time, major lawsuits and death. Get my drift?

Add to that the stress of finances, trying to collect from deadbeat clients, a family, 2 kids, a grandkid and 2 flippin' animals who seem to think the vet's office is their 2nd home, it can get pretty rough at times.
I am sure you know the drill.:thumb:

While my BP wasn't high enough to go on meds, I was getting dangerously close. At the age of 56, I was 252# at 5'8". Just about as wide as I was tall.

At that point I decided to take back my life!!:mad:
Changed the diet, started regular exercise (crossfit/TRX/and old school weightlifting).
I don't run much anymore, thanks to an injury I incurred while with Uncle Sam's Confused Group, but I can bike and row like a fiend.

The bottom line was, I started to make time for ME!
I dumped things, and people that were negative to that goal, lost 52# and ended up in better shape than I was at 36, a full time LEO and military reservist!:D

So here's what I'm saying.

While you make some very valid points, and you have to live life while you can, don't throw away the baby with the bath water either.

The extra two (2) years doesn't have to be a game changer.
Do what you have to do to reduce stress, go find yourself a boat, start working on it and cruising when you can. Maybe live aboard for short periods if work allows? Get used to it and the community, and when you hit that next two years, take that "MERE 200k" and head for that "One Particular Harbor (thanks Jimmy), wherever that may be, and don't look back!:thumb:

I've got several years on you at 58, and only wish I'd started thinking this way when I was 50. Hindsight is as they say, always 50/50, but you can bet that we're already looking for that boat, big/small, old or not so old, pristine or a fixer up. Just doesn't matter. It'll be ours! No payments other than the normal crap, and my peace of mind. My escape.

So as promised, back to the thread, and your comments.

As others have said, it can be whatever you make it.
If you have an undying need to keep up with the Joneses, then by all means, it's going to get expensive quick.

If on the other hand, your bills are paid, you're comfortable with what fits you, your family, your budget and your lifestyle, and don't give a fat wharf rats backside about what anyone else thinks, then you'll be fine.:thumb:

Go out and have some fun!

OD
 
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Well said, OD.

That from a former LEO who is now a retired LEO and loving retirement.
 
We have an offer on a 42' Californin. We wanted to spend 50k. Will end up spending 69,900, plus reg, taxes, insurance, slip fees, and filling the Admirals move in list. That leaves us low in the pockets but hey, I never have had a lot of money anyhow!

It can be done if u are flexible and willing to go see a LOT of crappy boats. You can find one u like if u work at it. We have looked online over 2 yrs and several months on the ground humping from one to the other.

Ask away on this forum as u move fed. These folks have been super kind and very helpful to us.
 
frgeorgeh said:
We have an offer on a 42' Californin. We wanted to spend 50k. Will end up spending 69,900, plus reg, taxes, insurance, slip fees, and filling the Admirals move in list. That leaves us low in the pockets but hey, I never have had a lot of money anyhow!

It can be done if u are flexible and willing to go see a LOT of crappy boats. You can find one u like if u work at it. We have looked online over 2 yrs and several months on the ground humping from one to the other.

Ask away on this forum as u move fed. These folks have been super kind and very helpful to us.
Click to expand...

Getting out on the water is a very Zen experience, the size of your boat has little to do with it. Humans have some sort of instinctive connection to water, it's hard to explain.

I've never sold a boat, and still have our original 13' dell quay dory from the late 1960's (I think?), several home built dingy's one if which is at the bottom of a lake in France, a steel 60' home built barge and a little sea fishing Cat; they all hold positive memories for me, some going right back to my childhood.

There's the rich who have expensive play things; they have to spend money to compensate for their sadness in life, and the people who live simple happy lives on very little because they are already content with their lot.

My sister was friendly with the chef on a super yacht; we got a tour of the boat and it was clinically clean, all chrome and shiny like a hospital; no thanks!

...or some worm out old boat being restored by a keen enthusiast ; yes please!
 
Rustybarge;320255 There's the rich who have expensive play things; they have to spend money to compensate for their sadness in life said:
The tens of billions of loto tickets sold every year indicate the world's population thinks otherwise.
Click to expand...
 
sunchaser said:
The tens of billions of loto tickets sold every year indicate the world's population thinks otherwise.
Click to expand...

From my personal experience of people from all walks of life I would say this:
Just Like respect you can't buy happiness, but you can earn it.
If you're already happy, then you don't need much.
Rich people become isolated, lonely and sad; everything revolves around money.

The flip side of Zen:
if you take away a person's happiness,what have they got left that's worth anything?
 
FF said:
IF I wished to tow a boat I would purchase a used 18 wheel tractor, cab over with a sleeper pod. The shortest available , easy with $5,000US

With some work I could shuck the second rear axle , shorten the frame as much as could be done and install a hitch.

With some work the sleeper could get a stove and composting toilet , VOILLA a legal RV!!!

No CDL , no air brake endorsement and most important $125 per Year! insurance.

Of course the usual mom & pop Airstrean style length , 55ft in many eastern 65 in civilized states and longer out west would rule..

With a tow rating of about 50- 55,000lbs a boat would hardly be noticed.

The cheap RV insurance is the key weather for one launch a year or Maine to San Fran every other week
Click to expand...

Yes please:thumb:

Careful with that type of setup, I know for a fact some states do not allow RV classification for anything with a 5th wheel:mad:

Anyone can be "rich"...if you behave responsibly. I feel absolutely zero sorrow for people that work 10 hour days, come home to a house that is way beyond the 30% income budget, drive a brand new car, and everyone in the household has new iPhones. Mommy and Daddy are more than likely on the verge of divorce due to finances and make up for it by giving their children everything they could possibly want without working for it. No one is making any retirement contributions. Blah Blah Blah...they choose to live like that.

Their is a boat life for the taking no matter what your income level is for the most part. Here is the perspective: trade in your family data plan for a set of flip phones and you have my boat payment covered and then some. Pretty sad...
 
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funangler said:
I would rather have a 12 ft beam and give it to a semi to tow to it's new location if you can not go by water. The cost of 1 ton truck and 3 axial trailer is kind of expensive.
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That is because the big three have cashed out on Americans "thinking" they need a 1 ton truck. Have you seen the sticker prices...ouch:eek:

In reality you could buy a nicely used International truck or if you want to go real redneck, a used bus and cut the kiddo portion off. That chassis would tow circles around any 1 ton any day of the week for 1 years worth of payments on that shiny new 1 ton. They are all fluffed up, I'm sorry but a set of 4 or 6 E rated tires can only turn and stop so much weight. The traction and skid control is being amped up only to keep underwear stains from occuring.
 
Rustybarge said:
There's the rich who have expensive play things; they have to spend money to compensate for their sadness in life, and the people who live simple happy lives on very little because they are already content with their lot.
Click to expand...

Does it somehow give you pleasure to stereotype and judge other groups of people? "Have to spend money to compensate for their sadness in life?" I personally take great offense to that. Should they not spend it just so as to not offend narrow minded people? I guess when they give money to worthy causes then that's also got some underlying meaning that you find bad too? Why do you feel it's appropriate to say such things as that? Do you not grasp that people can be happy at all economic levels? Or that rich or poor can be sad in life?
 
Greetings,,
Mr. MS. After 135 posts I suspect you STILL have not got an answer to your question. LOTS of good suggestions to get you on the water on a budget but alas, as I re-read this whole thread, not a definitive answer.
Please allow me to attempt. "Is boating for the rich?" It IS indeed! Rich in spirit. I believe your father is still with you as is the love of water he instilled in you. Stop thinking and pursue your love...
 
BandB said:
Does it somehow give you pleasure to stereotype and judge other groups of people? "Have to spend money to compensate for their sadness in life?" I personally take great offense to that. Should they not spend it just so as to not offend narrow minded people? I guess when they give money to worthy causes then that's also got some underlying meaning that you find bad too? Why do you feel it's appropriate to say such things as that? Do you not grasp that people can be happy at all economic levels? Or that rich or poor can be sad in life?
Click to expand...

Sorry bandB:
I meant to say: get happy first then you won't need much to stay that way; rather than getting rich first thinking it will make you happy which it won't .:)

Putting the cart before the horse is a mistake that's easy to make.:facepalm:
 
BandB said:
Does it somehow give you pleasure to stereotype and judge other groups of people? "Have to spend money to compensate for their sadness in life?" I personally take great offense to that. Should they not spend it just so as to not offend narrow minded people? I guess when they give money to worthy causes then that's also got some underlying meaning that you find bad too? Why do you feel it's appropriate to say such things as that? Do you not grasp that people can be happy at all economic levels? Or that rich or poor can be sad in life?
Click to expand...

Well put BB. I am incredibly rich! I have my health, a wonderful lady to share life with and a bunch of grandchildren to spoil rotten. Add a couple of boats to the mix and I am the wealthiest man alive!
 
Greetings,
Mr. RB. Mr. BB raises a good point about making generalizations. Happiness is a state of mind, not the state of a bank account. I'm not rich nor do I begrudge those that are for the most part. Likewise I don't look down on those less fortunate than me. As Popeye says "I yam what I yam and that's ALL that I yam."
We are currently in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. When one enters Port Everglades one runs the gauntlet of uber yachts. 10 million here, 25 million there...it seems to go on for miles (actually only about 3 miles or so). Invariably, they are, seemingly, fully manned with crew, shining, buffing, maintaining with, what I could see, nary an owner in sight. Are these owners happy? Who knows but the crew are gainfully employed and happier, I suspect than not being employed. My only wish regarding these symbols of affluence is I would like a crew to do the same on our vessel. But...It is what it is my friend.

 
RT Firefly said:
Greetings,
Mr. RB. Mr. BB raises a good point about making generalizations. Happiness is a state of mind, not the state of a bank account. I'm not rich nor do I begrudge those that are for the most part. Likewise I don't look down on those less fortunate than me. As Popeye says "I yam what I yam and that's ALL that I yam."
We are currently in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. When one enters Port Everglades one runs the gauntlet of uber yachts. 10 million here, 25 million there...it seems to go on for miles (actually only about 3 miles or so). Invariably, they are, seemingly, fully manned with crew, shining, buffing, maintaining with, what I could see, nary an owner in sight. Are these owners happy? Who knows but the crew are gainfully employed and happier, I suspect than not being employed. My only wish regarding these symbols of affluence is I would like a crew to do the same on our vessel. But...It is what it is my friend.

Click to expand...

Whoops.....! Referring back to 'is boating for the rich..........

To précis what I said: no, the smaller the boat the more the fun, the rich and famous are miserable people; isolated, sad, lonely......! :D

In other words: be happy, get a small boat that makes you content.
 
I don't know...having my own helo aboard would be a lot of fun!!!

Anyone can be miserable....money can eliminate the nasty distractions easier....and certainly helps where it comes to Healthcare here in the US. (Probably anywhere)
 
Rustybarge said:
From my personal experience of people from all walks of life I would say this:

Just Like respect you can't buy happiness, but you can earn it.

If you're already happy, then you don't need much.

Rich people become isolated, lonely and sad; everything revolves around money.



The flip side of Zen:

if you take away a person's happiness,what have they got left that's worth anything?
Click to expand...


I would modify that a bit. Happiness is the balance of hard work, self worth, time, money, family and friends. I have been government cheese and food stamp poor and 200$ steak rich and the happiest of times are those with the funds and time to enjoy my cruises with family and friends, knowing I worked hard and sacrificed to get here.


Sent from my iPhone using Trawler Forum
 
RT Firefly said:
We are currently in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. When one enters Port Everglades one runs the gauntlet of uber yachts. 10 million here, 25 million there...it seems to go on for miles (actually only about 3 miles or so). Invariably, they are, seemingly, fully manned with crew, shining, buffing, maintaining with, what I could see, nary an owner in sight. Are these owners happy?
Click to expand...

An interesting thing, RTF, is that while you immediately see the mega yachts because they are docked at the major marinas, if you puttered around the canals, for every mega yacht, you'd see thousands of smaller boats. On the average each canal probably has 100 boats and most under 50', many 25' center consoles. Even go to the marinas in the Dania cut off or far up New River, and you'll find thousands of smaller boats. Then there are the thousands of boats you won't see because they're on shelves in dry storage facilities. Those boats are generally under 40' and all under 50'. The mega yachts are immediately visible but not what the vast majority of those in the area own.

Now you will seldom see the owners around the mega yachts docked. When they join their boat wherever it might be, the boat generally heads out. Also, many of those are available for charter. Interesting too that many of those are moved by crew to Fort Lauderdale for winter and then to Antibes for summer cruising.

The owner of the largest boat I know personally has a 164'. Right now you'd see his at a dock in Washington. However, he's preparing to head to Japan and from there undecided. But the likelihood if his health allows is when we returns to Washington he'll be coming from the east, having circumnavigated. He's about 82 years old, a boat lover from the time he sold his first as a teen, then decided to build a few. Ok, a few hundred thousand ultimately as he did own a few boat builders along the way. But he's always kept a personal boat and been very active. In many ways, he has the trawler mentality of being on the water and now exploring new areas, just on a bit grander scale. Now he could afford one of the 250' and up yachts, but they're not the same to him.

The largest boat I've ever been on was 199'. I personally no longer felt in touch with the water. At the helm, I didn't feel like I was "driving" a boat. But then unlike one of our illustrious members here, I'm not interested in cruise ships either. To me it was like a large hotel on the water. Even at 15 knots you had to look at land to even feel like you were moving. However, the owner of that boat absolutely was an active boater before age and health led to him selling. Between 65 years old and 80 though he averaged at least 4 months a year cruising plus some short cruises in between entertaining friends.
 
psneeld said:
I don't know...having my own helo aboard would be a lot of fun!!!

Anyone can be miserable....money can eliminate the nasty distractions easier....and certainly helps where it comes to Healthcare here in the US. (Probably anywhere)
Click to expand...

I'm not suggesting becoming an ascetic and starving yourself.

But happiness is in a different compartment to wealth, and becoming happy is a different job of work to becoming rich.

They are two separate unconnected issues.

Could you be rich and happy? Rather....when you are already happy you don't need to be rich!
 
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Greetings,
Mr. BB. Indeed, tens of thousands of vessels in the southeast of the US of all different shapes, sizes and condition. The larger vessels ARE impressive due to sheer size alone. You misquoted me slightly "Are these owners happy? Who knows. I would like to think that everyone, rich or poor is happy but it's not for me to decide. Bottom line is as I stated that happiness is a state of mind. I sense thread creep...
 
I believe wealth can be the result of happiness but I don't believe happiness is the result of wealth.
 
Happiness is a state of mind. It should be a goal, a pursuit in life. It should be the only goal parents have for their kids. And we should teach classes in high school and college, required for every student, in finding happiness and contentment in life.

Mine truly started the day I met my wife. She taught me. Sadly, my parents never understood. Their goals for me were a good education, well paying career (and I didn't pursue the one they wanted for me), and power. The emotional and mental state never entered into their equation. They were not wealthy, just middle class and I can only surmise always wanted that which they didn't have. Perhaps in their minds they wanted better for their son, but in reality they had no idea what better truly was. Had I followed the course in life they wished, pursued only that which they felt was important, I would have been absolutely miserable.

Boating isn't just for the wealthy and happiness isn't tied to any economic level. I would love boating if I was back on the lake in my first boat, a 19' Sea Ray. I love it in our 10' RIB.

Many often misquote and say "Money is the root of all evil." That's not how it reads at all. "For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after ..... and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." Powerful words just as applicable today as when written.
 
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